Study Of Antioxidant Potential Of Medicinal Plants From High Altitude Areas Of Northwest Himalayan Garhwal Region, Uttarakhand State, India

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Meenakshi Sharma, Sunita Bishnoi, Abhishek Mathur

Abstract

Medicinal plants are the storage houses of natural molecules and metabolites which are nutraceutical and antioxidant agents. These molecules have the ability to fight against free radicals which gets generated within the body via different metabolic processes leading to ageing, cardiovascular diseases and other serious threats. Large-scale research projects are conducted to identify and study various medicinal plants from various geographical areas, particularly in the high altitudes and in the Himalayan region of Garhwal. The present studies were performed to investigate the antioxidant properties of polar and non polar solvent extracts viz. Methanolic, Aqueous and Petroleum ether of medicinal plants viz. Andrographis paniculata, Artemis annua, Xanthium strumarium, Rheum australes and Valeriana jatamansi. Results of antioxidant activity follows the pattern as that of- Methanolic extract> Aqueous extract >petroleum ether extract. The phytochemical screening of methanolic extracts was performed to qualitatively determine the active molecules present. Further studies are however needed to isolate the possible active molecules responsible for antioxidant activities.


 

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